This invention relates to a container such as a box, and particularly to a box of the FLIP-TOP.RTM. or hinged lid variety made from a paperboard blank and designed to preserve the freshness of its contents.
Hinged lid containers such as FLIP-TOP.RTM. boxes are commonly used to contain a variety of products, including tobacco products such as cigarettes, food products such as crackers or biscuits, and other products. Many of these products lose their freshness upon exposure to atmospheric air and humidity, and may also absorb unpleasant odors or tastes to which they are exposed. Therefore, it is common to provide a cellophane wrapper around such a container, or to provide an internal plastic bag inside the box, which remains sealed and air-tight until the container is opened.
Although techniques have been developed for at least partially reclosing a container of this type which has been opened, those techniques are generally unsuitable for a container such as a cigarette box which must be opened and closed several times within a relatively short period of time and with a minimum of inconvenience. The conventional cigarette boxes, both of the FLIP-TOP.RTM. type and of the side-opening type, contain no additional means for preserving freshness other than the reduction in air flow which results from the butting edges of the lid and base members of the package.
It would be advantageous to provide a package having the opening and closing characteristics of the conventional packages but also being provided with means for preserving freshness. It would further be advantageous if the closing or opening of the container provided an audible indication of closure or opening, to remind the user of the freshness-preserving characteristics of the package. Furthermore, it would be advantageous if the ordinary closing of the package would result in a partial resealing of the package.